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1933 and 1934 Langley Day

With the experience of the 1932 Washington Air Derby, Chet and his committee could feel confident that future air meets in Washington could be a success. However, there were a few important changes that had to be made. The first was the venue; they moved the meet to College Park, which took them away from having to disturb central Washington (the way Reagan National Airport still does) and the other woes of Washington-Hoover. The second was the name; they decided to name the event in honour of Samuel Langley, late president of the Smithsonian and an aviation pioneer in his own right. Finally, they decided to have the contest the first Sunday in May, certainly a better time in Washington than August.

Waiting for the competition to start.

The spectators, on the sidelines.

The trophies

Looking out onto the field, with the military band to the left. The Texaco plane was flown by Duke Jernigan and Jim Wheeler.

Model airplanes; there was a competition for these also.

The contestants line up for a final briefing and a photograph.

1933 Langley Day (May 7)

Although preparations had doubtless started at the end of the 1932 Derby, the contest was first announced in the Washington Star on 21 April. Chet’s usual energy led the way in getting things together. As with the Air Derby, Chet left no stone unturned; staunch Republican though he was, on 29 April he visited “that man in the White House,” Franklin Roosevelt, to invite him to Langley Day.

Sportman Pilot Race over a course of 25 miles, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, top speed less than 100 mph

C.W. Clements, Monocoupe

E.C. Floyd, Waco

J.A. Foote, Fleet

Sportman Pilot Race over a course of 25 miles, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes,top speed less than 125 mph

P. Sharples, Travelair

Richard Bercher, Travelair

R.D. Morgan, Monocoupe

Sportman Pilot Race over a course of 25 miles, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes,top speed less than 140 mph

H.A. Little, Monocoupe

Holland Duell, Monocoupe

Sportsman Pilot Race of 25 miles; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, men or women pilots, on a handicap basis

C.J. Wilke, Waco

H.A. Little, Monocoupe

E.C. Floyd, Waco

Acrobatic contest, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes

Lawrence Sharples, Travelair

Richard Bircher, Travelair

J.B. Purnell, Fleet

Slow Race of 10 miles to a landing, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes of 85 mph speed or less. Winner determined by maximum elasped time

Robert Babler, Aeronaca

Clarence S. Bruce, Spartan

OX-5 race; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes with an OX-5 engine

L.N. Jordan, Challenger

W.M. Henderson, Travelair

Precision “dead stick” landing contest; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes

H.A. Little, Monocoupe

C.J. Wilke, Waco

E.C.Floyd, Waco

Scale model airplane contest

Richard Hooper

Women’s race over 25-mile course; women pilot only, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, handicaps being assigned

Helen McCloskey, Monocoupe

Johanna Busse, Spartan

Grace Raezner, Fleet

Bomb-dropping contest; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, from a minimum altitude of 400 feet “C.H. Warrington Trophy”

C.W. Clements

1934 Langley Day (May 6)

The events and schedule for this year’s competitions were similar to the previous one; however, on the Friday before they had a reception at the Willard Hotel in honour of Laura Ingalls, the New Jersey “society girl” who had just (22 April 1934) come from setting a world’s record by flying 15,000 miles from the U.S. to South America and back, which included crossing the Andes Mountains.

In addition to the crowds such as you see here, the 1934 event drew foreign dignitaries as well: Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Sbernadori from the Italian Embassy and Captain G.R.M. Reid from the British Embassy. Both of these countries would be a war with each other in eight years, and the U.S. with the Italians in nine. Two years after this event Mussolini’s Italy would invade Ethiopia, where they used their air power against Haile Selassie’s primitive army. U.S. Army and Navy aviation were also represented amongst the 7,500 spectators.

Winners for 1934 Langley Day

Event

Winners and Airplane (if known)

Sportman Pilot Race over a course of 25 miles, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, top speed less than 100 mph

H.A. Little

Harrison Somerville

Jerry Foote

Sportman Pilot Race over a course of 25 miles, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes,top speed less than 125 mph

H.A. Little, Jr.

H. Somervile,

Sportman Pilot Race over a course of 25 miles, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes,top speed less than 140 mph

H.A. Little, Jr.

H. Doyle

H. Doyle

Sportsman Pilot Race of 25 miles; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, men or women pilots, on a handicap basis

R.H. Downs

R.P. Bonsall

Edgar Woodhams

Acrobatic contest, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes

Richard Bercher, Travelair

Slow Race of 10 miles to a landing, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes of 85 mph speed or less. Winner determined by maximum elasped time.

C.S. Bruce, Spartan (speed of 30 mph)

OX-5 race; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes with an OX-5 engine

Edna M Gardner (default)

Precision “dead stick” landing contest; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes

Ben King, Aeronica

“Bomb and go back” race

H. Somerville, Fleet

Women’s race over 25-mile course; women pilot only, open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, handicaps being assigned (“the most popular race,” went to five laps)

Edna M. Gardner, Fleet

Helen E. Calvis

Helen Frigo

Johanna Busse

Bomb-dropping contest; open to NC or Group II open or closed airplanes, from a minimum altitude of 400 feet

J.Edward “Ted” Krels

Ben King

Clarence Bruce

Relay Race

Edna Gardner, Thaddeus Jones, and H. Somerville

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Chet’s interest in the Washington Air Derby Association didn’t end with 1934 Langley Day. Above is a sequence of photos from the 1939 Langley Day. That year he was “back in the saddle” as President of the Washington Air Derby Association, as he would be the following year. Notice the Goodyear Blimp hovering above–a fixture at many American sporting events.